Auction Glossary

Your Guide to Commonly Used Auction Terms

Many people enter the auction process with questions, and understandably so! As Missouri’s premier auction company, Atterberry Auction & Realty Company strives to make the process as seamless and transparent as possible. If you’re interested in putting your property up for auction or are looking to bid on incredible items, familiarize yourself with the terms below. Contact our auctioneers or explore our variety of resources to find the answers to all of your questions.

  • Absolute Auction

    An auction where the highest bidder wins the auction, regardless of the price of the bid. There is no reserve price.

  • Bid Increment

    The minimum dollar amount that the current bid increases in price after each new bid.

  • Buyer's Premium

    An additional charge to cover administrative expenses. This is a percentage of the purchase price, which is specified in the auction terms and is in addition to any taxes owed. Not all auctions will have a Buyer's Premium.

  • Extended/Dynamic Bidding

    Auctions may extend the bidding time on any lot that gets a bid within a certain amount of time of its scheduled closing time. The auction will remain open for those lots until no bids are placed in the allotted amount of time. All lots not receiving a bid in the final minutes will close at the normal time. The auctioneer will determine the number of minutes necessary to activate dynamic bidding ahead of time.

  • Force Bid/Jump Bid

    "Forced Bid/Jump Bid" is a bidding strategy by which a bidder increases the bid by more than the next accepted bid (placing your bid at $150 when the next accepted bid is $125). This practice is used by some bidders to discourage others from bidding in hopes of acquiring an item at a lower price. There are many theories on the effectiveness of this practice and a bidder who wishes to apply it does so at their own discretion. The auction company will not lower the price of an item that has been won by a "forced" bid with no other competing bids.

  • Internet Only Auction

    A timed auction where bids can only be placed over the internet by bidders. No live bidding is taking place at a physical location.

  • Live Auction

    An auction that takes place at a designated place and time, where bidders can browse the auction lots and place their bids in person.

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  • Lot

    A group of items or a single item that are sold together at auction. Lots are determined before the auction and only the auctioneer can divide a lot. Each lot in an auction is numbered.

  • Maximum Bid

    The maximum amount you are willing to pay for a lot. The price will only increase by the minimum increment, but will automatically raise to your maximum bid as others bid up the lot over time.

  • Reserve Price

    The lowest price the seller is willing to sell the item. If the reserve price is not met at the auction, the item will not be sold.

  • Simulcast

    Live and online interactive bidding at the same time.

  • Staggered Closing

    Auctions that begin to close and progress at a certain rate of lots instead of at one specific time. For example, an auction will close five lots every five minutes beginning at a certain time. This will be listed in the terms of the auction.

  • Ultimate Choice Bidding System

    The "Ultimate Choice" system is a web-based bidding system that allows selling in a combination format. It allows bidders to bid on individual lots or a combination of lots (usually parcels of land) throughout the auction. No other company has been able to successfully develop and implement multi-parcel software that allows auction companies to consolidate multiple bidding combinations and provide interested buyers the ability to configure their combinations and bid online.

Interested in learning more about auctions? Check out some of our resources!